MFA Complaints Board orders Birkirkara FC to pay Paul Zammit €123,000

The Complaints Board of the Malta Football Association ordered Birkirkara FC to pay former coach Paul Zammit €123,000.

Paul Zammit had filed a request to the Complaints Board asking for the remaining salaries between September 2018 and January 2019 amounting to €15,000 and for the termination of the contract for “a good and just cause” and the amount of €108,000 equivalent to the full residual value of the contract.

The club had replied that Zammit “whether directly and/or indirectly, acted against the spirit not just of the Club but also of the Senior squad, leaving the Club with no other option but to look for ways in which the Coach’s apparent shortcomings could be minimised and rectified.”

The club said that “the Committee had to take certain drastic measures – after all it is the Committee’s duty, if not also that of the Head Coach, to ensure that the Club’s integrity and success is maintained at all times.”

Zammit said that he found no objections to the appointment of Jeffrey Farrugia but when John Arne Riise was appointed as sports director, the President told him that Riise would be wholly responsible.

The former Birkirkara coach added that that this was unacceptable as Riise could interfere in his decisions and Riise’s appointment was done without consultation. He said he had informed the club in writing regarding his objection.

The club said that they were trying to cap on the experience of John Arne Riise and that when it asked Zammit to hand in his resignation it had just cause to do so “but he was hostile towards the club and its committee members but, more importantly he was not delivering the required results. When the complainant refused to comply, the Club was left with no other choice but to take certain decisions to protect and safeguard the interests of the Club and its team members as much as possible.”

The Complaints Board ruled in favour of Zammit and ordered the club to pay him the sums of €15,000 and €108,000 plus 5% yearly interest from the date of the decision while imposing a prohibition on the transfer of players with immediate effect.